Madison Rodak
marodak@ursinus.edu
The Career and Post-Graduate Development (CPD) office has been sending out weekly newsletters via email to the entire student body in which students can find upcoming events, links to make appointments with Career Advisors, and other helpful resources. Michele Poruban, Associate Director of the CPD, explained that these newsletters are sent out each Monday; some of the newsletters may focus on a different class year as a way to give advice to different classes.
The adjustment to holding virtual meetings has been an interesting experience for Michele Poruban and Amy Brink, Assistant Director of the CPD. At first, some appointments were held over Zoom. However, the CPD has since mostly transitioned to GoToMeeting and Skype. In talking about using Skype to meet with students, Poruban explained, “That was something we used previously anyway, especially if we were meeting with students who were doing study abroad.”
Poruban and Brink discussed how grateful they are that they can still meet with students virtually. “The best part of our days is meeting with students, so still being able to do that virtually has been a blessing,” Poruban said. Brink said that the students themselves are also to thank for the possibility of these virtual appointments, since students are technologically savvy.
Now that campus has acclimated to a virtual environment, Brink wants students to know that the CPD is here to help with job searches, internships, and to answer questions. ”I think for students to know that we are here and available and also doing work behind the scenes [such as] webinars, essentially trying to keep up with what’s going on out there in terms of the job market, what’s going on in terms of virtual internships, so that we can be up to date and provide current information,” Brink said.
The CPD has also been hosting Employer in Residences, where students can meet with employers through GoToMeeting. Poruban explained, “Normally what would happen with the employer in residence is that the employer would come into our office and students would be able to meet one-on-one in one of our offices, so again that was very easy to transition to a GoToMeeting.” Poruban added, “We’ve still had students take advantage of those so that’s been wonderful.”
If you are interested in meeting with a CPD Career Advisor, you can sign up for an appointment on Handshake. You can also email career@ursinus.edu if you have any questions.